Nicki Minaj’s own lawyers are trying to quit her case, and they can’t get the paperwork into her hands.
A process server made three trips to the rapper’s Manhattan penthouse and walked away empty-handed every time, according to a Nov. 3 court filing.
The firm in question is Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever, which represents Minaj and her company, Pink Friday Productions LLC.
They’re defending her in a lawsuit brought by 24/7 Productions, which says it’s owed $275,149.62 for expenses tied to her Jingle Ball appearances and related promotional events.
The first attempt came on Oct. 29. A concierge reportedly called up to the apartment and told the server someone would be down shortly, but nobody ever showed. A second concierge then refused to make another call.
The server tried again on Oct. 30, and that call went unanswered too. The concierge reportedly said Minaj was out, though her husband, Kenneth Petty, was home. On the third visit, Nov. 2, the server was simply told Minaj was unavailable, with nothing more offered.
The strict delivery rules came from the bench. On Oct. 27, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Leslie A. Stroth ordered the firm to serve the withdrawal papers by personal delivery and certified mail by Nov. 4.
Stroth physically crossed out the firm’s proposed option of using email and overnight mail, which left the lawyers needing to put the documents in Minaj’s hands.
KECL partner Bruce W. Bieber says the firm covered its bases anyway. Copies went out by certified mail and FedEx on Oct. 29, and tracking showed the FedEx package arrived the following afternoon without needing a signature.
Bieber argues that’s enough to prove Minaj and Pink Friday Productions received the documents and know the firm wants out.
Why they want out is only partly public. The withdrawal request cites “irreconcilable differences” over litigation strategy, along with communication problems and a broken working relationship between lawyer and client.
The firm has offered to explain the details to the court privately so confidential information stays protected.
It isn’t the first time this year a lawyer has tried to step away from a Minaj case. In February, attorney Matthew Abbott sought to leave her defense in Tameer Peak’s $10 million defamation lawsuit, also citing communication issues.
Two separate cases with two separate legal teams pointing to the same breakdown makes it hard to read either as a one-off.
For 24/7 Productions, the fight is still about the money. The company wants Minaj and Pink Friday Productions to cover what it spent on those Jingle Ball dates and promo events, and a messy change of counsel could slow that down.
Stroth now has to decide if a FedEx receipt and three failed trips to a lobby are enough to let the firm walk away.
